Ice Cream: Sundaes

The very best ice cream concoctions in the city.

The Best Sundae in Boston

The Dark-Chocolate Brownie Masterpiece at Picco

Picco owner (and pastry wiz) Rick Katz has been making brownies for decades, so he knows how important the anchor ingredient is in a brownie sundae. “I like the lightness of a cake brownie, but the moistness of a fudgy brownie—I like to hit a balance between the two,” he says. As a result, the brownie here is warm and rich, but porous enough to soak up lots of melting vanilla ice cream and dark-chocolate Scharffen Berger fudge. Make sure to ask for a topper of house-made chocolate-covered peanuts, which are roasted, candied, dipped in chocolate, and then rolled in confectioner’s sugar. —Molly Mirhashem

Sundae School

Five more fudge-dripping triumphs.

Photographs by Bruce Peterson, Styling by Molly Shuster

Liège Waffle SundaeSaus, Downtown

This shop’s butter-rich Belgian-style waffles are made even more gut-busting with a scoop of Christina’s vanilla ice cream, drizzles of house-made salted-caramel and chocolate-hazelnut sauces, and an adorable spiced speculoos cookie.

Inspired by the towering Bailey’s sundaes of his youth, chef-owner Michael Leviton set out to design his own loaded creation. Each element—from the soft-serve ice cream to the brûléed bananas to the pretzel and cookie toppers—is made in house.

Extreme Sundaes

Ben & Jerry’s calls its bucket-size sundae on steroids the Vermonster, but you can find homegrown varieties all over town. Here’s how some local heavyweights—in most cases, upward of five pounds apiece—stack up.

Name: The VermonsterWhere to Get It: Ben & Jerry’s, Back BayPrice: $39What’s In It: 20 scoops of ice cream, four scoops of hot fudge, four bananas, three cookies, a brownie, 10 scoops of walnuts, four extra toppings, and whipped cream.

Name: The Battle of Bunker HillWhere to Get It: Putnam Pantry, DanversPrice: “The Revolutionary Price Tag of $17.76”What’s In It: 17 scoops of ice cream, as many toppings (like homemade fudge, butterscotch, macaroon crunch, and cherry-caramel sauce) as you can fit in the dish.